A Christian missionary was high on ecstasy when he crashed a light aircraft, killing himself and a 13-year-old boy.

By Nick Allen

2:38PM BST 10 Jul 2008

Robbie Gunter, 34, stalled the two-seater Cessna 150 just seconds after taking off and plummeted 200ft to the ground with his teenage passenger Jamie Clapp, a family friend.

Mr Gunter's pilot's license had previously been revoked and had only been given back to him four days before the crash last July.

An official investigation by the Air Accident Investigation Branch concluded Mr Gunter had taken the Class A drug ecstasy hours before the fatal flight.

Jamie's father Gordon Clapp, 65, from Bristol, said: "I just can't believe it, I thought Rob was an ordinary decent guy. I'm disgusted that he could take ecstasy and take my son into the air.

"If he was still alive now, I'd finish him off myself for what he did to Jamie. We were friends and I didn't think for a minute he was a drug-taker. He was a practising Christian and did missionary work.

Following the crash friends paid tribute to Mr Gunter, from Greenock in Scotland, as a kind-hearted generous and devout Christian.

But the official inquiry said he had a level of ecstasy in his blood which was even higher than a normal recreational dose.

The report said: "The results suggest, therefore, that the drug is likely to have been taken within a few hours of the flight.

"This may have impaired both his judgement and his ability to complete complex tasks, reducing his ability to operate the aircraft safely."

Mr Gunter had very little flight experience since gaining his licence in 2002.

In late 2006 flight authorities revoked his privileges to fly solo after he experienced navigational difficulties.

He had not told Jamie's parents his licence was reinstated just four days before the fatal flight and that he had not flown for six weeks before the incident.

The official report said: "His overall piloting abilities must therefore be considered to be variable if not marginal.

"This is considered to be a causal factor in the accident since a pilot should not lose control of an aircraft after take-off even if the engine does stop."

The flight took off from Clutton Hill airfield near Bristol on the afternoon of July 8, 2007 and Mr Gunter made contact with radio controllers in Bristol.

He told them: "We're a Cessna 150 just left from Clutton, gonna cross over Bath towards..."

After that 14 second-long transmission the aircraft fell to the ground and burst into flames.

Witnesses told how the small aircraft took off too sharply and slowly, stalling in the air, although there were no adverse weather conditions.

Mr Gunter, who moved to Bristol in the late 1990s, gained his licence after an intense flying course in Florida, but only flew for 90 minutes between 2002 and 2006.

The trained mechanic met Mr Clapp a year earlier after helping him fix his broken-down car and the pair became good friends.